MORE FROM Good Housekeeping:

This standout pulled top points for shine and also did well in five other categories.

"It was easy to apply and looked shiny and bright throughout the time I wore it," said a volunteer. Our manicurist gave it perfect scores for how evenly it went on, while many women loved that it came off easily without staining their nails.

In-lab and at-home testers rated this newbie — the only winner with a built-in base and top coat — best chip-defier, and its staying power nearly matched Maybelline's: "It was long-lasting and never chipped," noted one pleased tester.

Lawrence J Whritenour Jr.

How We Tested

First, we sent the 10 best-selling nail polishes (185 bottles total) to women nationwide. They applied two coats of color — each brand's best-selling non-shimmery red shade — without a base or top coat, then reported back on how shiny the polish was, how quickly their manicure chipped, how many days they left it on, and more.

The top six performers were then tested in the GHRI lab on another set of panelists. A professional manicurist applied polish to the nails of 60 women, this time to evaluate shine and determine drying speed — and find out if it varied with color. (We compared reds with each brand's best-selling nude shade.)

Our testers weighed in on shine, wear, and chip-resistance.

J Muckle / Studio D

The Naked Truth

In a rush? Paint your nails a pale shade: In our lab tests, nude dried more than two minutes faster than red!